Thermosensitive recording elements have wide application in the printing industry. For example, thermosensitive recording elements have been used in recording instruments for measurements, such as facsimiles, printers, thermal devices for computers, devices for preparing architectural and engineering drawings, vending machines for dispensing railroad tickets and luggage tags, and thermal label printing devices. Conventional thermosensitive recording elements generally comprise a support and one thermosensitive recording layer provided thereon. The thermosensitive recording layer primarily contains a binder, a substantially colorless electron donating dye precursor and an electron accepting compound also known as a developer. Upon heating, by means of a thermal head, a thermal pen or laser beam, the dye precursor instantaneously reacts with the electron accepting compound to form a recorded image.
It has been found that defects in the imaging surface of thermosensitive recording elements can be easily obtained. For example, rubbing the element gently with hard objects such as paper clips, fingernails and dirt particles or even by folding the element can result in undesirable imprints in the imaging surface. This presents a barrier to their use as facsimile papers, architectural engineering drawings, luggage tags, thermal printed labels, and the like. Defects in the imaging surface are also obtained during the preparation process. Thermal coatings are typically prepared by mixing certain dye precursors and developers together to form a single coating composition. A color forming reaction may occur at room temperature leading to coatings that have varying degrees of grayness in the undeveloped background areas.
Accordingly, a need exists for a thermosensitive recording element having improved abrasion resistance. It has been found that the thermosensitive recording element provided by the present invention, overcomes the above identified deficiencies and leads to abrasion resistant, whiter, i.e., less gray, thermosensitive recording elements, and also extends the useful life of the coating compositions prior to their use.